Vacuum transfer and placement mechanisms are well known in the electronic assembly art and are used for retrieving electronic components, such as connectors, from a supply source and transferring them by applying negative air pressure to the connectors and placing them onto a printed circuit board in preselected positions for soldering. Typically, such mechanisms are used with robotic assemblers and include a transfer arm with an engagement end that is pneumatically connected to a source of negative air pressure. This negative air pressure creates a vacuum at a vacuum suction nozzle at the engagement end of the transfer arm which can be used to effectively "grab" a connector so that the connector may be robotically transferred into a placement position with great accuracy onto a circuit board or like component.
After the connector is accurately placed on a circuit board, the terminals of the connector are soldered to circuit traces on the board. The connector then is released from the vacuum-suction nozzle by stopping application of negative pressure thereto. A complementary mating connector then can be mated to the board mounted connector.
With the ever-increasing demand for miniaturized interconnection systems between electronic components, including circuit board mounted connectors, it has been increasingly difficult to provide a surface area on the connector (typically the connector housing) for engagement by a vacuum-suction nozzle. Simply enlarging the connector often is not a viable solution to this problem, because larger connectors take up valuable "real estate" on the circuit board. This problem is further compounded when the surface area of the housing must be used for other functions. For instance, the mating connector may include a latch projection which engages within a latch opening in the housing. The latch opening creates a "window" which prevents the application of negative pressure to the housing in the area of the latch opening. The present invention is directed to solving these problems by providing a unique solution for temporarily closing such openings or windows.